Blind Veterans UK marks Dignity Action Day

Date

1 February 2018 07:00

Today is Dignity Action Day, a chance for us to promote and uphold dignity, which is at the heart of all our interactions with our blind veterans.

This year Dignity Action Day takes place on 1 February. It encourages health and social care workers, and members of the public, to uphold people's rights to dignity and provide a truly memorable day for people who use care services.

At Blind Veterans UK maintaining dignity is an important part of care delivery and something we see as fundamental to how we work with blind veterans day-to-day.

Carer Jackie helping blind veteran Gordon with his shoes.

Whether our veterans are residents at our centres, taking training and respite, or being supported in their community, we ensure that they are empowered to live and die with dignity.

To this end we have worked closely with our veterans to ensure that their right to dignity is upheld in every interaction we share with them. This covers everything from greeting people with their names when they enter our centres, to giving them options about different activities to get involved in and supporting them to make decisions about their long-term care.

Will Thornton, Regional Manager at Blind Veterans UK, explains:

"Discussions with our veterans showed that for them, dignity was about having choices. Choices about small things like how they take their tea, to much bigger things like how they would like to be cared for towards the end of their lives. We’re proud to uphold and support the right of our beneficiaries to these choices."

Blind veteran Margaret with carer Gordon.

This Dignity Action Day staff at our Llandudno centre will be wearing red and taking part in a bake sale to raise money for the centre's dignity wardrobe, from which care staff can take clean items if a veteran comes in without a spare change of clothes. Sophie Flinders, Care Manager at the Llandudno centre, says:

"As a charity we have an ethos of person-centred care. Blind Veterans UK promotes offering choices, privacy and time to those we care for. We’re really proud of our involvement with Dignity Action Day and our ongoing commitment to ensuring the very best care for our blind veterans."